In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that may or may not appear in visible form, or other manifestation. Descriptions of apparitions vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, orbs (round circles of light), ectoplasm (thick cloud looking mass), to realistic, life-like visions. Ghosts are generally described as a solitary essences that haunt particular locations, objects, or people that they were associated with in life. Animals have a sixth sense & for this reason most any pet can be to your advantage when ghost hunting or when experiencing activity in your home. Watch your pet to see which direction they're looking in and then take a picture. Examine the photo for any anomalies. Pay close attention to see what your pet's reaction is, is he/she scared, happy, agressive, or curious towards something that you can't see? Never assume that your dog is just barking for no reason, they're able to see things that you may not. Children are also usually more sensitive to seeing spirits as well. Parents, please ALWAYS listen to your child if they say that there is something or someone in your home. Ask them more detailed questions such as "what do they look like, how tall, hair color, age , type of clothing, what it's doing, & why it's there. If the child is being scared, or hurt, I suggest calling in a paranormal investigator who can help. There's many reasons why a spirit/ghost may be lingering behind. There's many cases of a haunting after violent or tragic events in the building's (or land's) past such as murder, accidental death, or suicide. But not all hauntings are at a place of a violent death, or even on violent grounds. One belief that many cultures share is that the 'spirits' of those who have died & not passed over, are trapped inside the property where their memories and energy are strong. It's believed others have remained because of unfinished business. This could be any number of things, from trying to get a message to someone, or simply to look after a loved one. The ancient Romans believed a ghost could be used to exact revenge on an enemy by scratching a curse on a piece of lead or pottery and placing it into a grave. Ghosts reported in medieval Europe tended to fall into two categories: the souls of the dead, or demons. The souls of the dead returned for a specific purpose. Demonic ghosts were those which existed only to torment or tempt the living. The living could tell them apart by demanding their purpose. The soul of a dead person would divulge their mission, while a demonic ghost would be banished using the name of Jesus Christ. Ghosts are also believed to appear as vaporous mists, clouds, or ectoplasm. Some anthropologists believe that these visions come from the ancient perception that “breath” is related to the soul as shown in the Latin “spiritus”. Orbs are very controversial even among various experts & investigators. Some say all are dust, bugs, or moisture, while others excitedly claim every speck or shape is paranormal. Our belief which seems to be believed by many, is that while faint - more see through "orbs" are dust (which can be proven by kicking up dust in a gravel driveway & snapping a photo, of course don't do this test in a haunted area or you may end up with unclear & mixed results), bright - self illuminating, or colored orbs are typically spirit energy. One theory & a more scientific belief behind them is that a small circle is an easier form for spirits to be seen in, using less energy. Full bodied apparitions are seen & photographed as well, but orbs seem to be captured much more frequently. They can also be seen as a mist, a thick cloud looking object, & light rods or streaks. Many photos exist that have been faked which makes it hard for any real photos to be accepted. The first Ghost Club, was founded in London in 1862, it's believed to be the oldest paranormal research organization in the world attracting such notable members as Charles Dickens and Sir William Crookes. According to some sources, one of the first Americans to try to harness technology for use in “Ghost Hunting”, was Thomas Edison. Although references to Edison’s unsuccessful attempt to develop a “Ghost Recording” machine exist in some sources, other sources contradict this information. Now a retired electronic engineer by the name of Bill Chappell & founder of Digital Dowsing, has become one of the most popular among paranormal enthusiasts as the maker of ghost hunting equipment. One of his most popular is the Ovilus. This is a device that uses a synthesizer chip along with an extensive English word dictionary. It has seven modes of operation which include phonetically sounding out words. While this & most spirit boxes can be hard to understand, the Ovilus can now be purchased with a digital word display for an additional fee. Trapped or bound spirits can be released, & negative spirits can be rebuked & removed. While there are many different beliefs in how this is done depending on your culture &/or religion, our belief is to rebuke & command negative spirits to go in the name of Jesus Christ (while we do not consider ourselves religious or belong to any one denomination, we do have strong spiritual beliefs which include the belief of God creating us & Jesus Christ being our savior). We have also used & had many good results by using white sage in removing negative entities. Always stand your ground & try not to fear, as negative spirits feed on the strong emotions of fear. It actually can cause matters to get worse. Sometimes you will see instant results, but other times, it can be a battle of wills for awhile. Don't give up, & I suggest calling in an investigator who has experience in removing them. Many investigators strictly investigate but do not remove. To release trapped spirits, we try to communicate with the spirit by telling him/her that they no longer need to remain here, but are free to go. We try to find out whats holding them here & try to resolve that problem. If it is a negative entity than we take authority over it & banish it. Negative or evil spirits can be dangerous & should never been taken lightly.

Note about white sage; Using white sage is a old Native American tradition to remove negative energies & spirits. This method has been found to be very effective & many different people from various walks of life, now use it. Every living thing, humans, animals, & even plants, emit different types of energy/ions. Ions are floating in the air around us all of the time and have either negative or positivecharges. Oddly, negative is actually good, & positive ions are found to be harmful. (This is due to Benjamin Franklin who did not fully understand ions when he named them. The terms have never been changed.) Changes in their concentrations or in the ratio of positively to negatively charged molecules can have remarkable effects on plants and animals. It is known in science that ion depletion is the source of a wide range of human health problems, both mental and physical. These air ions are important to you because if they have a high proportion of negative ions in the clusters you will feel lively, uplifted and enthusiastic. Too many positive ions in the clusters will have you feeling depressed, lethargic and full of aches, pains and complaints.http://www.breathofsalt.com/posnegions.htm- Explains about ions & what they do. http://altered-states.net/index2.php?/ionizers/ion.htm- Very in-depth explaination about ions & what they do.White sage emits negative ions; just as a waterfall or running water, emits the same thing. This is why, when people are near running water, they always feel refreshed, calmer, & better for what appears as no reason at all. The energy around our body holds positive ions, much like a carpet when you walk across it, creates static electricity. Positive ions are like dust in our aura and it simply makes us feel sluggish, tired, moody, depressed, physically ill, or simply not ourselves. The smoke from the sage meets the positive ions, clings to them and neutralizes them out of our aura, or from the room or house where you live or work. Salt lamps have a similiar effect with ions. I find it interesting that salt too is a universal tool used by many cultures of old right up to present day, in removing negative entities.We have had many personal experiences while using white sage with very amazing results. One truly interesting experience was during a family shopping trip to Sears. I had some white sage in my pocket as my husband, two of our kids, & myself were going down the escalator toward the electronics department. A woman standing near the entrance to electronics, suddenly whipped around & made very serious eye contact directly with me. She would not remove her eyes from me, & crouched in almost an animalistic fashion while showing fear. As we got closer to the bottom, she darted fearfully into electronics & hid behind one of the isles, only peeking out to see where I was. She remained in the crouched fearful position. As I got closer to her, she glared at me like a cornered animal, covered her nose & mouth, & ran passed me like I was going to attack her. A store employee hurried after her to see what might be wrong. The woman claimed that one of our children had coughed while coming down the escalater & she was afraid that she would catch something. However, neither of our kids or anyone else for that matter, had coughed, sneezed or anything else. Also, if they had, she would have made eye contact with them, not only me. She never once looked at our kids, or my husband. Her eyes were locked on me. Even the store employee metioned that the woman was almost acting possessed. Other experiences include using it in home cleansings, as well as placing it around someone that seemed to be under the influence of something negative. In this case, the white sage was placed unknowingly in all areas that this person usually frequented around the home. The person became very agitated & paced back & forth through these areas seeking to find a place he felt comfortable. He reported that he no longer could. The agitation from the sage grew until prayers & rebuking of anything negative were done. Upon doing this, he immediately calmed down & could be handed the sage without any farther problems.

The four basic types of ghost/spirits.

Residual haunting- This type is pretty common & can be describe as basically a play back. These spirits can not interact with you, they are not aware that you are there. They are playing back an event that happened to them, such as in a tragic & sudden death. Other times they are found doing something that was a daily ritual for them. This can be anything from from still working on the job site, to sitting on there front porch every evening. Some claim that they are not a spirit at all, but only a left over energy imprint that was very strong. Like a video recording. Others claim they are an actual spirit, but that they are caught in a certain time & can not be aware of anything else.

Intelligent haunting- This is the type that most paranormal investigators get excited about as they can interact with you. The circumstance can vary from this ghost being aware of his/her death, even though their spirit has remained for what could be a variety of reasons, to being unaware that they have passed & in their thoughts, they are still living in their time. This has been documented many times in situations such as at Gettysburg, PA. Whether they realize the have passed or not, they can & many times will react with you. You can ask questions, or ask them to knock on something, move something, turn on a light, or various other things, & they may do so. This type of spirit/ghost can be either friendly or mean in nature. Their nature & personality generally follow whatever it was when they were living.

Poltergiest- This type is known as "the noisy ghost" as they are known to throw objects, bang doors, & be violent in nature. Some believe this is a spirit that has the strength & ability to move & throw objects as well as many other things. Others claim that the occurances are coming from a certain person in the home known as "the human agent". It is believed that they are typically (but not always) female, usually a teenager or a woman who is under stress. It's believed that she unconsciously manipulates physical objects by psychokinesis (PK), which is the power to move things by energy generated in the brain. They are usually unaware that they are the cause. Their fear of the "poltergiest" activity increases their stress which in turn can increase the activity farther. The activity typically happens in bursts, then will slow down or cease, only to show again. The peak of it usually happens fairly early, then it will slow & usually leaves all together. Others believe in both theories of actual spirit as well as the human agent & will examine each situation to see which might be the real cause. This is what our team does.

Demonic haunting- Demonic hauntings are not a human ghost. They are an evil supernatural being/spirit that has never been in human form. They have intelligence & depending on the type of demon, they can be very powerful. For this reason, extreme caution should always be used & experienced help should be sought. They can be very dangerous & should never be challenged, or provoked. They have the ability to attack both physically &/or mentally. They also have the ability to appear in any form that they choose & have been known to try to trick & deceive people in this fashion. Their activity usually starts out small, then increases. They feed on your fears so allowing yourself to fear it will only make matters worse & increase it's hold & strength. Authority has to be taken over it, but not in a provoking way. Cussing at it & screaming things such as "I'm going to kick your butt, will not help matters, but only make things worse. They are commonly seen as black masses & again, experienced help should be sought out if you believe that you might be dealing with something of this nature.